Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Far reaching......


Okay, I know I have been blogging about this a lot lately. I am very concerned about the CPSIA as a whole and how it is affecting our entire nation. As parents and concerned citizens I’m sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. As a speech language pathologist I had a student who had been poisoned by lead (she ate paint chips from her apartment as a baby). It is very concerning. The government is trying to protect our children from lead, however with CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) they will be banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we've seen in decades. Make no mistake, this is very real. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too.

Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren't originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested - they might be used on his paper or in a project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12. This will also include any new items a school must purchase (tables, chairs, lunch trays, silverware, etc). Schools are already under funded, can you imagine when they must use all their levy money paying higher prices for tested products? This will also affect those who homeschool too. This is far reaching.

Due to the new law, all children's books will be pulled from library and our elementary school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. I guess there's always television. Our children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all. :) Some kids only have access to books at school, they don't have a personal library or parents' inclined to find literature for them. What a huge oversight! The commission has been contacted about this oversight as surely books were not intended to be part of this. Feels a bit like Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (one of my most favorite books). I added the wikipedia link for those who haven't read it. You really should (get the book fast - who knows what will happen - they might think this book is for kids and ban it). Kinda scary in this climate. Article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322


So while I am forcing myself to believe that this law can't continue with so many involved, I also believe that we all must remain informed and involved. Please continue to talk about this, educate yourself about this and share that knowledge with others. This is a huge issue that will affect everyone. Do something!